Wednesday, 11 May 2011

The twists and turns and children of Edward Atkins' past.

ABOVE: Booleroo Railway Station

Pretty much all of the recent detective work on Edward Atkins has been done by fellow family researchers Luke (Atkins) Harris, a descendant of James Atkins, and Kylie Nott and their attention to detail and time commitment is impressive.

Kylie's husband is a direct relation of George Lewis, Elizabeth Mashford Lewis's eldest son and so not connected with Edward Atkins directly, which makes her sterling efforts even more appreciated.

In the following exchanges the information may seem convoluted but ancestry research is a process and following the twists and turns does bring up clues and sometimes, facts.

At this point in time, if we are to trace Edward's ancestry further than Wirrabarra Forest we need more information. I have contacted a Gloucestershire researcher but, as he pointed out, there are more than 400 parishes and registers to check so finding a particular place, as we did with the Mashfords in Coldridge, Devon, would be helpful and more economical in terms of time and money.

So we continue to wade through the ever-growing tidbits of our family history.

First of all here are some thoughts from Luke about possible scenarios:

“Atkins.-On the 15th November, 1891 at the residence of his son-in-law, Whyte Park, Wirrabara, Edward Atkins, aged 84 years. A colonist of over 50 years, leaving 1 son, 5 daughters, 47

Even with out doing any research, it was just common knowledge among my family that Edward Atkins had one son, called James Atkins and two daughters, called Mary Ross nee Atkins and Elizabeth Cox nee Atkins. Who the hell were the 3 daughters? And who was the son-in-law living at Whyte Park? And why was Elizabeth Mashford, Edward Atkins wife not mentioned in the Obituary? She was still alive at the death of Edward Atkins. As a result, we have a mystery.

When I looked up Whyte Park on the net all I could make out was that it was a homestead or farm located near Mt Remarkable and a place called Bangor, but it certainly did not throw any light upon the mystery of who the missing daughters were. As a result, I did some research and my last entry in my Family History journal is below:

I can only explain the three missing daughters of Edward Atkins by suggesting that either:-

·Edward Atkins was married to an unknown wife in England before he came to South Australia. His wife died and for what ever reason left his daughters behind in England and he later arranged to bring them out to South Australia.

·That there were more children born to Hannah McLeod and Edward Atkins. Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod may have left South Australia and returned to England where she gave birth to three more daughters. This could explain why there is no death record for her to be found in South Australia and why there were no records of births of the three daughters in South Australia. This would also explain the missing years of Edward Atkins in South Australian records and why there was unclaimed mail for him in South Australia.

·Edward Atkins remarried after the death of Hannah McLeod and had other children by another unknown wife while he lived in South Australia, but there is no evidence of this, as there is no marriage certificate and as there are no records of birth in South Australia for the three daughters.

·Or Edward Atkins remarried another woman in South Australia who already had daughters and thus the three daughters mentioned in his obituary were in fact his step-daughters. However there is no evidence of this.

·Or Edward Atkins returned to England after the death of his first wife Hannah McLeod in 1843 and remarried in England. This would account for the missing years of Edward Atkins and explain why there was unclaimed mail for him because he was not in South Australia to collect his mail. It would also explain why there are no birth certificates for the three daughters to be found in South Australia.

Evidence

However, what is the evidence? At this stage, there are only two source of evidence for the missing daughters of Edward Atkins:-

“The South Australian Marriages Index of Registrations 1842-1916”.

The Death Certificates of Jane McKinnon nee Atkins and Margaret Newbery nee Atkins.

I decided to search the “South Australian Marriages Index of Registrations 1842-1916”. This book lists all the marriages that took place in South Australia between 1842 -1916 and gives brief details of the facts recorded on each of the marriage certificates. I looked at all the females recorded with the last name of “Atkins” who had a father called Edward Atkins and then looked at the time line of Edward Atkins. Edward Atkins has missing years between 1843 when Hannah McLeod may have died and 1849 where he is listed as living in the Clare valley Then in 1857 he married Elizabeth Lewis nee Mashford. No record of him exists until 1849 when he was listed as living in the Clare Valley as a farmer, and 1857 when he married Elizabeth Lewis, nee Mashford. The result was the following:-

(1) James Stacey, He was 26 years of age at the time of his marriage. His father was named as Charles Stacey. James Stacey was married on the 8/4/1872 to Sarah Atkins who was 22 years of age at the time of her marriage. Her father was named as Edward Atkins. The couple were married at Saint Mark’s Church Penwortham. If Sarah Atkins was 22 years of age in 1872 then she was born in the year c1850. Sarah Atkins’ birth date matches up with the time line of Edward Atkins. This is because the last record of Edward Atkins was in 1849 living in the Clare Valley and1857 when he married Elizabeth Mashford.

As a result, Sarah Stacey nee Atkins became a contender as one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. This is because she was born after the birth of Edward Atkins first son Henry Edward to Hannah McLeod in 1843 and before Edward Atkins marriage to Elizabeth Lewis nee Mashford in 1857. There is no record of a birth for Sarah Atkins to be found in the “South Australian Birth Index of Registrations 1842-1906” This could mean the birth was not recorded in South Australia, or she was born in England. Even if Sarah Atkins was born in 1850 in England and Edward Atkins was living in South Australia in 1849, it really makes no difference because researching family history dates are not always correct.

(2) John McKinnon, 24 years of age when he married Jane Atkins on the 25/12/1867 at Saint Mark’s Church Penwortham. She was aged 22 years at the time of her marriage. Her father was called Edward Atkins. If Jane Atkins was 22 years of age in 1867 she was born in the year 1845. Jane Atkins details matches up with time line of Edward Atkins. She was born after the birth of Edward Atkins’ first child Henry Edward in 1843 and before the marriage to Elizabeth Lewis nee Mashford in 1857. As a result, she became a contender as one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. However, there is also no record of a birth for Jane Atkins in South Australia in the “South Australian Birth Index of Registrations 1842-1906”.

(3) Ann Atkins aged 24 years at the time of her marriage. The name of her father was not recorded. She married Walter Malyn on the 16/5/1854 at Holy Trinity Church. If Ann Atkins was married in 1854 at the age of 24 then she was born in the year 1830. Therefore, Ann Atkins dates match up with time line of Edward Atkins. However, her father is not listed. As a result the author discounts Ann Atkins as a possible candidate for one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. There is also no record of a birth for Ann Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”

(4) John Pole, 25 years at the time of his marriage. His father was called Richard Pole. John Pole married Ann Atkins on the 23/12/1887. Ann Atkins was 20 years of age when she married in 1887. Her father was listed as Edward Atkins. She was married at Registry Office. If Ann Atkins was 20 years of age in 1887 then she was born in the year 1862. This does not match the timeline of Edward Atkins because he was already married to Elizabeth Mashford. As a result, Ann Atkins is not one of Edward Atkins missing daughters. There is no record of a birth for Ann Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”.

(5) Richard Fox was 43 years of age at the time of his marriage. His father’s name is not recorded. He married Elizabeth Atkins who was aged 42 on 13/10/1852. Her father’s name is not recorded. The couple married at Christ Church O’Halloran. If Elizabeth Atkins was married in the year 1852 at the age of 42 then she was born in 1810. Her dates do not match the time line of Edward Atkins because Edward Atkins was only born in the year 1813. As a result, Elizabeth Atkins could not be one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. There is no record of a birth for Elizabeth Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”.

(6) Henry Coches, 31 years of age at the time of his marriage. His father was called Charles Coches. Henry Coches married on the 9/2/1880 to Elizabeth Atkins. She was aged 22 years and her father was called Edward Atkins. The couple married at St John Church at Laura. If Elizabeth Atkins was married at the age of 22 in the year 1880 then she was born in the year 1858. Elizabeth Atkins dates do not match the timeline of Edward Atkins because he was married to Elizabeth Mashford in 1857. (NB: Although this could to be the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth who married a Cox or Coche?)

There is no record of a birth for Elizabeth Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”. As a result, Elizabeth Atkins could not be one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins.

(7) Charles Bown was 26 years of age when he married Ellen Atkins on the 17/11/1851. Her father’s name is not recorded, her age is not recorded. As a result, due to a lack of information the author cannot place her as one of Edward Atkins’ missing daughters. There is also no record of a birth for Ellen Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”.

(8) Edward Puddy was aged 26 years when he married. His Father was called Robert Puddy. Edward Puddy married Emily Atkins on the 4/5/1872. Her father was called Edward Atkins. However, her age is not recorded. The couple were married at the Residence of John Pole, a shepherd, at Booleroo Station. As there is no age for Emily Atkins at time of her marriage it is not known when she was born. As a result, she cannot be a contender as one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. There is no record of a birth for Emily Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”.

(9) Jasper Newbery was aged 30 years when he married Margaret Atkins. His father was called William Newbery. He married Margaret Atkins on the 24/12/1872. She was 25 years of age when she married. Her father was called Edward Atkins; The couple were married at the residence of John Pole Booleroo Station. If Margaret Atkins was 25 years of age in 1872 then she was born in the year 1847. This date matches up with time line of Edward Atkins as Margaret Atkins was born after the death of Edward Atkins’ first child Henry Edward and before the marriage of her father’s marriage to Elizabeth Lewis nee Mashford. As a result, she became a contender as one of the missing daughter of Edward Atkins. There is no record of a birth for Margaret Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index of Registrations 1842-1906”.

So what conclusions can be extrapolated from the above information? There are three contenders that could be the missing daughters of Edward Atkins namely:-

1.Sarah Stacey nee Atkins.

2.Jane McKinnon nee Atkins.

3. And Margaret Newbery nee Atkins.

ABOVE: We need to find out where in Gloucestershire Edward Atkins came.

I would argue based upon known facts from the historical record, and some speculation, that the above three people are the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. I will try to explain my reasoning and rationale for his belief. However, researching family trees is not always straight forward and sometimes the research cannot be 100% correct so some speculation is needed. At the same time, the reader may come up with counter argument and there may be plenty of them. However, the facts, at this stage, points towards the below.

Jane Mckinnon nee Atkins.

Her father was called Edward Atkins.

Her date of birth fits in with the time line of Edward Atkins, which is, she was born between 1843 and 1857.

She lived in the Clare valley where Edward Atkins lived.

She had 11 children which would certainly count towards the 47 grandchildren mentioned in Edward Atkins’ obituary when he died in 1891.

Sarah Stacey nee Atkins.

1. Her father was called Edward Atkins.

2. Her date of birth fits in with the time line of Edward Atkins. That is she was born after 1843 and before 1857.

3. She also may have had, at one stage, lived in the Clare Valley because she was married in the same church that Margaret Atkins married in, namely St Mark’s at Penwortham. This is also the same church that Edward Atkins married Elizabeth Lewis nee Atkins in 1857.

Margaret Newberry nee Atkins.

1.Her father was called Edward Atkins.

2.Her date of birth fits in with the timeline of Edward Atkins. That is she was born after 1843 and before 1857.

3. No record can be found of her having an association of living in the Clare valley. However, she died at Bangor. This small town is very close to Wirrabara and Whyte Park. Because Whyte Park is so close to Wirrabara that the author would argue that it was her husband Jasper Newberry, who placed the obituary concerning Edward Atkins in the newspaper.

Emily Puddy nee Atkins

Emily Puddy could also be one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins, but because her age is not recorded on the marriage certificate it is not known when she was born. However, she comes a close second to the other women mentioned above for two reasons.

Her father was called Edward Atkins.

She was married at the Residence of John Pole, a shepherd, at Booleroo Station. This is the same place that Margaret Newbery nee Atkins was married at and as a result, there may be a link between the two people.

So what conclusions can be drawn from the above information? Not a lot, except:-

Edward Atkins could not have remarried another woman in South Australia who already had daughters because this would have made them his step-daughters and the obituary mentions his daughters. All of the women had their father listed as Edward Atkins on the marriage certificates.

When the second source of evidence is examined, that is the death certificates of Jane McKinnon nee Atkins and Margaret Newbery nee Atkins, more light is thrown upon the mystery to solve it. Jane McKinnon nee Atkins’ and Margaret Newbery nee Atkins’ death certificates state that they were born in Clare South Australia. As a result, three theories are discounted straight away:-

Edward Atkins was married to an unknown wife in England before he came to South Australia. His wife died and for what ever reason he left his daughters behind in England and he later arranged to bring them out to South Australia.

Edward Atkins returned to England after the death of his first wife Hannah McLeod in 1843 and remarried in England to an unknown person who died in England before giving birth to three daughters in England.

So what theories are left?

That Edward Atkins remarried after the death of Hannah McLeod and had other children by another unknown wife while he lived in South Australia. There is no evidence of this, because a marriage certificate cannot be found and as there are no records of birth in South Australia for the three daughters. As a result, their mothers’ name is not known. As a result, this theory seems unlikely at this stage. The authors mother, while proof reading this family history journal has come up with the theory that Edward Atkins deserted Hannah McLeod and then married Elizabeth Lewis nee Mashford. As a result, the marriage was bigamous. This could also be a reason why Elizabeth Atkins left her husband when the three daughters showed up.

However, there is no evidence of this which only leaves the most likely possibility.

That there were more than one child born to Hannah McLeod and Edward Atkins.

I was more than happy with the above, but I could not get Emily Puddy nee Atkins out of my mind, because of the connection between her and Margaret Newbery nee Atkins. The connection was:-

Both their fathers were called Edward Atkins.

And Emily Puddy was married at the Residence of John Pole, a shepherd, at Booleroo Station. This is the same place that Margaret Newbery nee Atkins was married at and as a result, there may be a link between the two people.

Then I did a quick count of the grandchildren of Edward Atkins when he died in 1891. When I did this I realised I had a problem because something was still not adding up.

Then Kylie you did your chart on all the possible grandchildren of Edward Atkins and the numbers added up. Fantastic, great work on your behalf. However, there was still a problem we now had 8 children of Edward Atkins this cannot be right because the obituary stated he only had six 6 children:-

“Atkins.-On the 15th November, 1891 at the residence of his son-in-law, Whyte Park, Wirrabara, Edward Atkins, aged 84 years. A colonist of over 50 years, leaving 1 son, 5 daughters, 47

Edward Atkins had a total of 69 grandchildren of which 46 were alive when he died in 1891. I am very happy with this number. However, something still does not add up. I now believe that all the above children are connected in different ways.

All have a father called Edward Atkins

All were born before his marriage to Elizabeth Lewis nee Mashford. Not sure when Emily Puddy nee Atkins was born. (any ideas on this?)

The number of children they had by 1891 when Edward Atkins died adds up to 46 grandchildren for Edward Atkins.

All of them lived closed by to one another that is the lower mid north of South Australia.

Twins run in a family tree. My Aunty Sharon had twins (however one died) James Atkins had twins , Ann Pole had two set of twins, and Jane Mckinnon had twins.

Thus I believe they are all related, but as mentioned the obituary of Edward Atkins states he had only 6 children.

I now believe that not only was Elizabeth Mashford deliberately cut out from Edward Atkins’ obituary, but so was Mary Ross nee Atkins and Elizabeth Cox nee Atkins. If we cut these two daughter out of the obituary then the obituary makes sense that he was surrived by 6 children. but when in reality, Edward Atkins was surived by 8 children all together. Why would the son-in-law who lived in Whyte Park keep Mary Ross nee Atkins and Elizabeth Cox nee Atkins' children in the obituary, but cut out Elizabeth Mashford, Mary Ross nee Atkins and Elizabeth Cox nee Atkins?

I do believe there was a break down in the marriage of Edward Atkins and Elizabeth Mashford. I cannot prove it with evidence, but I think there are enough clues to go by that leans towards a possible break down. The clues isolated by themselves do not add up to a breakdown in the marriage, but added together, I believe add weight to the argument that there may have been a breakdown in the marriage.

Mary Atkins gave birth to her first child Edward Atkins at Gladstone in 1877 and not at Wirrabara where Edward Atkins was living. Did Mary Atkins and her mother leave Edward Atkins by 1877?

John Lewis died at his mother’s residence at Gladstone in 1888. Thus Elizabeth Atkins had her own home separated from her husband.[1] It is known that in 1875[2] she signed over some land in Gladstone to her son George Lewis so she may have been a woman with financial means and could have lived in her own home in Gladstone separated from her husband.

Mary Atkins married Charlie Ross in 1888 she left her father’s name out of her marriage certificate. Her father was alive at the time of his daughter’s marriage so this could be a clear indication that Mary Ross nee Atkins had disowned her own .

Not one of Edward Atkins’ children from Elizabeth Mashford or his wife placed an obituary in the papers for Edward Atkins.

No story has ever passed down my family tree that Edward Atkins had any other children except Elizabeth, Mary and James. The story of Elizabeth Mashford's first marriage was passed down as family history which included George Lewis, but never any of the missing daughters.

Why there was a breakdown? We will never know and we can only speculate, but we will not know the truth easily. However, some reasons could be:

Maybe there was a fight between Edward Atkins and Mary Atkins about having a child out of wedlock and Edward Atkins was a narrowed minded bible thumbing Christian and believed his daughter brought shame upon the family. Living in a small town like Wirrabara everybody would have known. Elizabeth Atkins nee Mashford sided with her daughter and both mother and daughter moved out of the home.

Edward Atkins was the real father of the Mary Ross nee Atkins child?

Mary Atkins accused her father as being the father of her child for some reason when he was not the father.

There was a fight between Elizabeth Mashford, her children and the missing daughters of Edward Atkins.

These above speculated reason could be the reason why Elizabeth Mashford, Elizabeth Cox nee Atkins and Mary Ross nee Atkins were cut out of the obituary because Edward Atkin's missing daughters took their father side in any argument with Elizabeth Mashford children and never wanted to have anything to do with them. This could explain the reason why no family oral history was ever passed down my family tree because Mary Ross nee Atkins or James Atkins never talked about their half sisters again.

I think James Atkins name was kept in the obituary because he was the only male alive of Edward Atkins and the Atkins name had to be carried on by him. So regardless if James Atkins was involved in a fight or not he was important to be placed in the obituary because of his last name.

I also want to raise some issues about Hannah McLeod. I find it strange that not one of Edward Atkins daughters was called Hannah nor were one of Edward Atkins female grandchild were called Hannah. It seems to me that names were passed on down the family tree and this did not happen in this case. Should we re look at the marriage between Edward Atkins and Hannah McLeod do we have the right marriage here?

As an aside, the story of John Pole was a sad one. He was killed in a shooting accident. His wife remarried and then had her neck broken in a accident and one of their sons died in an awful death. There is a article 1917 newspaper about the Pole family. Very sad.

And then Kylie added her invaluable input:

In looking at the obit for Edward, we are missing three daughters. I agree with Ros – that’s a lot of breeding for three women. I approached it from the view, as with the grandchildren, we are only counting the ones alive “to mourn their loss”. Also for a misprint or a miscount for that matter.

Anyway Luke, all the women I included did fit using your same criteria, as per the following:

(4) John Pole, 25 years at the time of his marriage. His father was called Richard Pole. John Pole married Ann Atkins on the 23/12/1887. Ann Atkins was 20 years of age when she married in 1887. Her father was listed as Edward Atkins. She was married at Registry Office. If Ann Atkins was 20 years of age in 1887 then she was born in the year 1862. This does not match the timeline of Edward Atkins because he was already married to Elizabeth Mashford. As a result, Ann Atkins is not one of Edward Atkins missing daughters. There is no record of a birth for Ann Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”.

Your theory is spot on except I think that it is 23/12/1867. This is a cut and paste from Ancestry.com . I also think it is just as well if they did marry in 1867. They had 10 kids by 1887! So if she was 20 when married, Ann was born in 1847. She is definitely a contender.

Name:

Ann Atkins

Father's name:

Edward Atkins

Spouse Name:

John Pole

Spouse's Father's Name:

Richard Pole

Marriage Date:

23 Dec 1867

Registration Place:

Frome, South Australia

Page Number:

278

Volume Number:

73

(6) Henry Coches, 31 years of age at the time of his marriage. His father was called Charles Coches. Henry Coches married on the 9/2/1880 to Elizabeth Atkins. She was aged 22 years and her father was called. Edward Atkins. The couple married at St John Church at Laura. If Elizabeth Atkins was married at the age of 22 in the year 1880 then she was born in the year 1858. Elizabeth Atkins dates do not match the timeline of Edward Atkins because he was married to Elizabeth Mashford in 1857.

There is no record of a birth for Elizabeth Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”. As a result, Elizabeth Atkins could not be one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. Are you sure?

I thought this was Elizabeth Cox. It was her children I included, her last was Joseph Mashford. So yes she was born Dec 1857 I think, but she is Elizabeth’s daughter, please tell me if I am wrong here. My other reason for this guess is that Coches only appears in the SA index this one time, according to Ancestry.com. There are only two other entries in Australia out of all Ancestry.com records. Do you have a different marriage record for Elizabeth Cox?

(8) Edward Puddy was aged 26 years when he married. His Father was called Robert Puddy. Edward Puddy married Emily Atkins on the 4/5/1872. Her father was called Edward Atkins. However, her age is not recorded. The couple were married at the Residence of John Pole, a shepherd, at Booleroo Station. As there is no age for Emily Atkins at time of her marriage it is not known when she was born. As a result, she cannot be a contender as one of the missing daughters of Edward Atkins. There is no record of a birth for Emily Atkins in the “South Australian Birth Index Of Registrations 1842-1906”.

I found the following death notice

PUDDY.—On the 12th August, at Wirrabara. Emily Paddy, relict of Edward Prentice Puddy. late of Wirrabara, leaving four daughters and five sons to mourn their sad loss, aged 80 years. Sadly missed

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931-1954)

Monday 20 August 1934

This makes her year of birth circa 1854. Once again in the right range. She is also a contender.

So we have:

Jane Atkins born c1845 married John Mckinnon died 1928

Margaret Atkins born c 1847 married Jasper Newberry died 1911

Ann Atkins born c 1847 married John Pole

Remarried 1888 Henry Hatch I could find no children for Henry Hatch and Ann may have died in 1889 aged 40 at Glenorchy. So she may not have been a twin.

Sarah Atkins born c 1850 married James Stacey died 1896 (birth circa 1849)

Emily Atkins born 1854 married Edward Puddy died 1934

Plus the three that we know about from Elizabeth. Now the problem from the above is that we needed two dead by 1891. I think it would be strange for a man not to count a daughter but to count the grandchildren especially the bastard if that was the reason. But if it was Mary that is only two more children, so even if we exclude her children, we only need three more. Ancestry.com is down at the moment but I will check that and the SAGS index later. I used Ros’s method of (pregnancy) every two years to find a few extra that contain alternative spellings but there is still room for more. We know from the death certs that we have the Mckinnon and Newberry lists correct. Three more to check.

The above also could be ambiguous as to whether it is Hannah or not, without exact dates it is difficult, but if Hannah died with little Henry in Nov 1843, and Jane was born in 1845, there is time for Edward to remarry. I can definitely see a marriage that was so short, and resulted in such a sad end not being mentioned and passed down. Then again I cannot find any other marriages for Edward. Without birth certs I am not sure how we will ever find out.

I too had noticed the lack of a Hannah in any of the names, that of course could be a simple dislike of the name on the part of Hannah. However, a few suggestions, one of the daughters is Emily, and everyone but Jane has a daughter Emily. One of the daughters is Sarah, she named two daughters Sarah and Jane had a daughter Sarah. Mary and Ann are also well represented. It would help if we knew Edward’s mothers name. It certainly leaves room for speculation.

NB: I think the names Emily, Sarah, Mary and Ann are an important focus for more research into Edward's family.

As to these women not ever being mentioned, Luke do you remember that story about George Lewis dying young, the Pole family reminded me of that, and also a story I was told, I can’t remember the details, something about someone falling of a cart and being run over and dying, but he wasn’t really a relation, well almost but not really and then there was a few other things that happened to them. I couldn’t keep up with the relationship and didn’t take down the details, it just sounded like some gossip.

If this is who they were talking about, I know why I couldn’t keep up. Also when my husband’s Great Aunt talked about the family, she spoke of the Lewis line as station people from the Laura area. I remember I was surprised to find so few after the way she spoke of them. But I thought there was plenty on George’s wife side and perhaps she was talking about some of them. I now wonder if she was talking about these people. The Puddy name sounded familiar; a rather unusual name.

The other hope is that the local papers have a more detailed obit for Edward. There are no papers for Gladstone or Laura on Trove yet. Also the Register in Trove has a lot more corrections to be done.

A few more months and we may have more information to deal with. I have never seen multiple obits for any of the family during this period, only one was put in, usually repeated about two weeks later. While the loving wife is an obvious omission, it includes one of her daughters as well as her son.

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